Multiplicative random effects allow for cluster-specific scaling of covariate effects. In many applications with spatial clustering, however, the random effects additionally show some geographical pattern, which usually can not sufficiently be captured with existing estimation techniques....

Contests are meant to attract the best performers and incentivize high effort, however, they may also attract cheaters who try to win via illicit means which crowds out the best performers. We use a laboratory experiment to explore the role of self-selection in contests with a possibility of...

Distributional structured additive regression provides a flexible framework for modeling each parameter of a potentially complex response distribution in dependence of covariates. Structured additive predictors allow for an additive decomposition of covariate effects with nonlinear effects and...

Statistical post-processing of ensemble predictions is usually adjusted to a particular lead time so that several models must be fitted to forecast multiple lead times. To increase the coherence between lead times, we propose to use standardized anomalies instead of direct observations and...

Cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) are an increasingly popular method to assess mastery or nonmastery of a set of fine-grained abilities in educational or psychological assessments. Several inference techniques are available to quantify the uncertainty of model parameter estimates, to compare...

In multinomial processing tree (MPT) models, individual differences between the participants in a study lead to heterogeneity of the model parameters. While subject covariates may explain these differences, it is often unknown in advance how the parameters depend on the available covariates,...

Recursive partitioning techniques are established and frequently applied for exploring unknown structures in complex and possibly high-dimensional data sets. The methods can be used to detect interactions and nonlinear structures in a data-driven way by recursively splitting the predictor space...

Numerous papers report a negative association between parental divorce and child outcomes. To provide evidence whether this correlation is driven by a causal effect, we exploit idiosyncratic variation in the extent of sexual integration in fathers' workplaces: Fathers who encounter more women in...

The incidence of Cesarean deliveries (CDs) has been on the rise. The procedure's cost and benefits are discussed controversially; in particular, since non-medically indicated cases seem widespread. We study the effect of CDs on subsequent fertility and maternal labor supply. Identification is...

Reciprocation of monetary gifts is well-understood in economics. In contrast, there is little research on reciprocal behavior following immaterial gifts like compliments. We close this gap and investigate how employees reciprocate after receiving immaterial and material gifts. We purchase (1)...